What Should Students Still Have to Do for Themselves?

In this episode of This Week with EdSurge, two educators grapple with the same question from opposite ends of the classroom. One traced it back to a trip to the record store. The other found it waiting inside a lesson plan. Together, they explore what artificial intelligence changes about learning, and what remains unchanged.

A Trip to the Record Store

Nathan Kraai, Director of Innovation and Design Thinking at The Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts, did not expect a family outing to a record store to change how he thinks about artificial intelligence in the classroom. Watching his kids puzzle over why anyone would buy a vinyl record when streaming exists led him to a comparison he could not shake. He calls it a signal, borrowing a framework from author Jane McGonigal, and argues it says something important about what people actually want from learning.

A Classroom Already Made Its Choice

Court Shuller teaches middle school English in New Jersey, works as a reading specialist, and recently joined the EdSurge Voices of Change Fellowship. Speaking from ISTELive in Orlando, Court describes a classroom where the response to artificial intelligence has already taken a surprising shape. From a room full of educators picking up pens instead of talking about writing, to a hard line drawn around one particular use of AI, Court makes the case that some choices should stay firmly in human hands.

Listen to the episode:

Stories Mentioned in This Episode

How a Vinyl Record Resurgence Helped Me Understand the Future of AI in Education by Nathan Kraai

Voices of Change Fellowship by EdSurge

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